Film vs digital sensor

How does film compare to a digital sensor? Will an iso400 film at 1/250sec appear the same as those settings on a digital camera? If not, how far apart are they? Do the differences vary with different films at different isos?

dynamic range of a sensor is much more limited than that of negative film. So using film gives clear advantages in contrasty scenes. if you compare digital with positive film (slides), the difference is less pronounced, but positive film still wins.

and also digital noise looks quite different from film grain. people tend to prefer the latter in appearance. however, today's sensors produce less and less noise with each generation.